Build Apps Without Coding: Guide to Google AppSheet With Gemini AI

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

Gartner has predicted that by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will utilise low-code or no-code technologies. Furthermore, the global no-code AI platforms market is expected to grow to $24.8 billion by 2029. These numbers are no surprise, knowing that no-code solutions bring significant cost reductions and speed up development processes. The best news? If you are using Google Workspace, you probably already have access to a powerful no-code tool – Google AppSheet.

Ready to become a “citizen developer” and create your first no-code app? This guide will help you start with Google AppSheet, using its powerful integration with Google Gemini. Read on for inspiring use cases, step-by-step instructions and best practices.

The no-code evolution

Let’s start by clarifying some core concepts, such as low- and no-code development, and how they compare to traditional ways of creating apps.

No-Code vs. Low-Code vs. Full-Code Development

Method	No-Code	Low-Code	Traditional Development
Who is it for	Business users, citizen developers, and non-technical staff.	Professional developers, IT teams, and technically skilled business users.	Professional software developers, architects, and engineers.
Required Skill Level	None. Relies entirely on visual, drag-and-drop interfaces.	Basic coding knowledge is often required for customisation and complex tasks.	Expert knowledge of programming languages, frameworks, and software architecture.
Core Purpose	To empower non-technical users to build simple applications..	To accelerate the development lifecycle for professional developers.	To create highly specialised, scalable, and complex software from scratch.
Flexibility & Customisation	Low. Users are confined to the pre-built components and templates.	High. Allows developers to write custom code, integrate with various systems via APIs, and extend functionality.	Unlimited. Every aspect of the application is controlled by the development team.
Development Speed	Fastest. Applications can be built in hours or days.	Fast. Significantly faster than traditional coding for most projects.	Slowest. Requires manual coding for all features.
Typical Use Cases	– Simple, internal apps for specific departments – Automated workflows – Data collection forms – Functional prototypes	– Mission-critical enterprise application – Modernising legacy systems – Customer-facing apps – Complex business process automation	– Large-scale, complex software systems -High-performance applications – Unique, specialised software with no off-the-shelf solution
Maintenance & Scalability	Managed by the platform vendor. Scalability can be limited.	Can be self-hosted or cloud-based, offering greater control over maintenance and scalability.	Full responsibility of the development team. Offers the highest potential for scalability but requires significant resources.

Google AppSheet belongs to the no-code category, which means it empowers non-technical users to build applications and automate workflows using intuitive, visual drag-and-drop interfaces. Time to dive deeper into the product!

What is Google AppSheet?

Google AppSheet is a no-code development platform that allows you to create mobile and web applications without writing a single line of code. It’s designed for business users who understand their operational needs and want to build custom solutions quickly and efficiently. Whether you’re a project manager, a business analyst, or simply someone with a great idea, AppSheet provides the tools to bring your vision to life.

See our webinar below for an in-depth AppSheet demo!

How Does AppSheet Work?

AppSheet works by connecting to your existing data sources, such as Google Sheets, Excel, and Cloud SQL. For businesses looking to integrate with enterprise systems, AppSheet is also previewing powerful Integration Connectors for sources like Salesforce and ServiceNow. Once connected, AppSheet intelligently analyses your data structure and automatically generates a functional application. From there, you can customise the app’s features, views, and workflows to meet your specific requirements.

(Note: Integration Connectors are an AppSheet Enterprise Plus feature, and standard connector pricing will apply.)

Benefits of Google AppSheet

1. Allows Building Apps Without Code: Your team can create custom applications without needing programming skills.

2. Speeds up Development: Go from an idea to a fully functional app in hours or days.

3. Connects to Your Data: Integrates with data sources you already use, like Google Sheets, Excel, and SQL databases.

4. Reduces Cost: Significantly reduces the cost compared to hiring developers for traditional app creation.

5. Automates Workflows: Allows automating tasks such as email notifications, reports, and data updates.

6. Works Everywhere: Apps are instantly available and functional across mobiles, tablets, and web browsers.

AppSheet Use Cases

The ability to extract data from documents and images opens up a world of possibilities for automation. In this section, we will look at some real-world use cases of AppSheet AI, focusing on the results brought by this no-code solution.

1. Inventory Management and Cost Tracking

Solutions & Support wanted to enhance their operational efficiency. To address challenges in job scheduling, time and cost tracking, and inventory management, Devoteam created tailored apps for inventory control, leading to a 10-20% increase in technician efficiency and a 15-20% reduction in inventory costs. Furthermore, Devoteam provided training to Solutions & Support employees, empowering them to build and manage their own applications, thereby fostering greater autonomy and adaptability for future business needs. Read the full story here.

Solutions & Support Simplifies Their Work with AppSheet

2. Accounting and Expense Management

Devoteam developed an in-house solution named Oasis using Google AppSheet. This project aimed to eliminate costs and streamline project accounting, time capture, and expense management by creating a suite of four integrated applications. The new system successfully eradicated annual licensing fees and yielded significant operational benefits, including a 50% reduction in time spent by managers approving tasks, a 40% decrease in project administration efforts for reporting, and a vastly improved user experience that led to higher data quality and a 90% positive acceptance rate with minimal training required. Read the full story here.

Oasis: How Devoteam used Appsheet to eliminate costs in Project Accounting, Time Capture & Expense Management

3. Audit Management

The Scandinavian hotel chain Strawberry collaborated with Devoteam to create a custom, no-code hotel management solution using Google AppSheet. This new application streamlined the audit process for hotel managers by providing a centralised platform and equipped upper management with real-time, dynamic data visualisations for proactive risk management. The solution ultimately enhanced security, improved operational agility, and empowered Strawberry to better ensure guest safety without a complex or disruptive transition. Read the full story here.

Devoteam Empowers Strawberry with a No-Code Hotel Management Solution

4. Training Management

Facing a chaotic and decentralised process for booking training courses for its temporary workers, Randstad Belgium implemented a custom application built with Google AppSheet, which was developed and deployed within just one month. This new system provided a stable, user-friendly interface that centralised the entire training request and approval workflow, allowing the non-technical administration department to easily manage suppliers and courses. The solution successfully streamlined operations, enabled real-time reporting on all training activities, and provided the agility to implement new features rapidly, bringing much-needed structure and efficiency. Read the full story here.

“Training for Talents” – AppSheet application @Randstad: a real-life AppSheet solution showcase

The Power of AI: AppSheet and Gemini Integration

One of the most exciting developments in the AppSheet platform is the integration of Google’s Gemini AI. This AI integration transforms the app creation process from the ground up. With Gemini for App Creation, you can build the entire structure of an app simply by describing your business process or idea in your own words.

Example Use of AppSheet and Gemini

Let’s see how it looks in practice!

• Give a prompt: “Create an application for my accounts payable team to track and approve vendor invoices. Team members need to be able to upload a PDF or an image of an invoice, then manually enter the vendor’s name, the invoice number, the due date, and the total amount. The app should also let us track the status of each invoice, using statuses like ‘Submitted,’ ‘Approved,’ and ‘Paid’.”

• Get the result: Gemini will then analyse your description and propose a complete app structure. In this case, it might suggest tables like “Invoices”, “Vendors” and “Invoice Approvals” along with the relevant columns for each, such as “Total Amount”, “Due Date” and “Status”.

• Check your result: You can then review, edit, and approve this structure before AppSheet generates the functional app for you to customise further. This natural language approach is a game-changer, making the process more intuitive and accessible than ever before.   

• Go further: Beyond this initial app creation, AppSheet’s AI capabilities extend to powerful automation tasks. You can now build automations that extract structured data from images and PDF documents. For our invoice app, this means you could configure an automation to take an uploaded invoice PDF and automatically extract the invoice number, date, and line items, saving the user from having to type them in manually.

We will walk through how to build this exact automation in the upcoming section.

How to Use AppSheet: A Step-by-Step Example

To illustrate the power and simplicity of AppSheet, let’s expand on the invoice processing app we just created. After using Gemini to generate the initial app structure, you can enhance it with a powerful AI automation that eliminates manual data entry.

1. Defining Data

Gemini has already created the necessary tables (see the chapter above): Invoices, Vendors, and Invoice Approvals. You can easily add or modify columns as needed. The app is already set up to allow users to upload an invoice file.

2. Creating Views

AppSheet will generate default views for your data. You can customise these to create a dashboard for managers to see all invoice statuses (Submitted, Approved, Paid) at a glance, or a simple form for an accounts payable team member to submit a new invoice.

3. Configuring Actions

You can create buttons for common tasks. For example, you could add “Approve” and “Reject” buttons to the invoice view. When a manager clicks “Approve,” it could automatically change the invoice’s status and record the approval date.

4. Implementing AI Automation

This is where you can truly supercharge the app. Instead of manually typing in details from a new invoice, an accounts payable clerk can simply upload the invoice PDF or image and let Gemini do the work. Here are the key steps to set this up within the AppSheet editor:

• Create an Automation Bot: First, you’ll navigate to the Automation section and create a new “bot.” This bot will listen for a specific trigger before it performs its tasks.
• Set the Trigger Event: You will configure this bot to run whenever a new invoice record is created and a file has been successfully uploaded. This ensures the automation only starts when there’s a new invoice ready to be processed.
• Add an AI “Extract” Task: The core of the automation is the AI task. You’ll add a step to your bot and select the Extract information from documents task. You then simply tell it which column in your table contains the uploaded invoice file.
• Map the Outputs: Next, you tell the AI where to what information it should find by selecting the columns you would like to populate.
• Provide Additional Instructions: To improve accuracy, you can give Gemini additional context using natural language. For example, for a specific supplier, you could add an instruction like, “The invoice number is always located at the top right of the document.”
• Automated Alerts: Once the data is extracted and the record is populated, the automation can trigger another action, like sending an automated email notification via Gmail to a manager, letting them know a new invoice is ready for their review and approval.

(Note: These advanced AI automation features are part of the AppSheet Enterprise Plus plan. However, you can grant access to these powerful apps to team members, external partners, or frontline workers by purchasing flexible AppSheet User Passes, without needing an Enterprise Plus license for every user.)

Best Practices for AI Success

To get the most out of AppSheet’s AI features, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Use High-Quality Inputs: For best results, use high-resolution images and clear, text-based PDFs. Avoid blurry images, and if possible, crop images to show only the relevant information.
• Provide Clear Instructions: When configuring an AI task, use the “Additional Instructions” field to give the AI more context about the data you want to extract. For example, you could tell it to “extract the total amount in the receipt. If you are not sure, return the number 0”.
• Start Small and Iterate: Don’t try to build a complex AI automation all at once. Start with a simple use case, test it thoroughly, and then gradually add more complexity.
• Embrace Change Management: Make sure to communicate the benefits of your new AI-powered app, provide training and clear mechanisms for feedback to ensure a smooth rollout.

It’s also important to be aware of the limitations of AI. While incredibly powerful, AI models can sometimes make mistakes, especially with low-quality images or complex documents. For this reason, it’s a good practice to have a human review the results of AI tasks, especially in the early stages of implementation.

Security and Governance

Security is a top priority for any business application, and AppSheet is built with enterprise-grade security features. As an administrator, you have full control over who can access your apps and what they can do. You can set up user authentication, define team-based policies and permissions, and create governance processes to ensure that your data remains secure and your business rules are followed. This balance of freedom and control allows for creativity and innovation while maintaining the integrity of your data. Read more about human-in-the-loop approach here.

By following these best practices, you can unlock the full potential of Google AppSheet and empower your organisation with custom applications that drive efficiency and innovation.

Conclusion

The integration of powerful AI like Google Gemini into no-code platforms like Google AppSheet marks the end of an era where creating custom applications was only for professional coders. 

By placing tools like Google AppSheet directly into the hands of those who know the problems best, businesses can expect improved efficiency, more creativity, and a competitive advantage is limitless. The only remaining question is: what will you create first?